Twentyfour
by x-Saelia-x
Summary: Eleven friends are unwillingly sucked into Organization XIII after a Heartless attack one night, and the biggest challenge they now face might just be to survive. T to be safe.
1. Scott Pilgrim and the Apocalypse

**Hi y'all! Saelia here. This is the first chapter of Twentyfour., my first fanfic. Please submit a review to let me know whatcha think! ^^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any other brand names mentioned herein.**

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**The Characters**:

Jason (Sonjax), Age 17

Ricky (Xyckri), Age 17

Tony (Xyton), Age 17

Woody (Woodyx), Age 17

Saxon (Saxxon), Age 17

Doug (Xogud), Age 18

Stacey (Caestyx), Age 15

Danni (Daxinn), Age 15

Stormy/Leigha (Xielagh), Age 14

Morgan (Xangrom), Age 14

Aleise (Saeliax), Age 14

**Chapter 1**

As usual, our group decided to go see a movie that Friday. Little did we know that seeing a movie together was the last thing we'd ever be doing. As humans, at least.

Ricky, a senior from school, had planned the whole trip earlier that week in hopes of alleviating some of the tension within our group; things had been pretty awkward after Tony and Danni's breakup. Since then, Danni had refused to sit at the same lunch table as Tony, or even on the same side of a classroom at times; so, the rest of the group was forced into choosing between the Tony Faction or the Danni faction. To make things less tense between the two of them at the movies, Ricky had invited along Woody and Stacey, another sophomore/senior couple just like Tony and Danni had been, and Tony's best friend, Jason. Saxon, one of Ricky's closest friends, had had some involvement in the planning, too; particularly extending an invitation to Woody, Stacey, and Jason. It was set for Friday night, at 7:30 at the Autumn Hollow Promenade's theater.

Thankfully, Tony had volunteered to pick everybody up from their houses to ensure that nobody would be late. He picked Morgan, Stormy and I up first from kendo club.

"Hey, freshies," he said as we climbed into the back seat of his car.

"Hi, Tony!" I said back, setting my shinai bag down on the floor of the car. "Thanks again for picking us up."

Ricky, Saxon, Jason, and Doug were next. They all squished into the front seat, save for Ricky, who decided to sit in the very back of the car. He climbed over our seats and settled himself on top of a cardboard box.

"You're going to get killed," Morgan warned him.

"You worry too much," he replied.

Next up were Woody, Stacey, and Danni. Danni lagged behind the couple walking in front of her, still hesitant about getting into Tony's car. I got the feeling that she wasn't too happy about seeing him, but nonetheless, after Woody and Stacey had taken a seat on the floor of the car between the passenger seat, Danni climbed into the back seat slowly and sat with us.

"Passenger seat's open," Tony called as the car began moving. "Any takers?"

"ME!" Ricky flew over the seats of the car, planting his butt in the passenger seat and sitting on his seatbelt to make it appear as though it was fastened.

"He's such an idiot," Stormy laughed. It was silent for much of the way, save for Danni and Stormy whispering back and forth and the occasional awkward conversation. Tony kept his eyes on the road for much of the way, but I caught him glancing back at Danni now and then.

We arrived at the Promenade a few minutes later, at exactly seven o' clock. The Promenade was a popular outdoor shopping mall in the center of Autumn Hollow, and we scrambled out of Tony's SUV, gasping for air and shouting at one another.

"Doug!" Stormy shouted. Doug was grinning ear-to-ear triumphantly at her. "Why the Hell didn't you roll down a window?"

Doug laughed at the remark. "Two words- child lock. Next time, let me sit in the passenger seat." Ricky had nearly fallen out of the car, choking and covering his eyes dramatically. (A/N: Dude, I'm pretty sure you don't smell with your eyes. xD)

"My eyes are burning!" he wailed. "Don't EVER eat beans again, man! EVER!"

Danni rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car gracefully after Ricky, holding her nose.

"Can we please not make a scene?" she sighed, playing with a strand of her pink-and-purple hair.

After the 'Doug Fart' scene had come to its noisy conclusion, Tony locked the car and Ricky rushed us to the ticket counter, insisting that we were going to be late.

"Eleven for _Scott Pilgrim_ at 7:30, please," he said, collecting money hurriedly from everyone. After receiving the tickets, he quickly passed them out to us and ushered us inside. The lady at the front of the theater checking our tickets smiled at our ridiculously huge group. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind one ear as she examined us, finally taking our tickets.

"Couples night?" she asked.

Danni and Tony glanced at each other, then immediately looked away, scowling. Tony walked over to Jason and tried to start an awkward conversation, while Danni went back to fussing over her hair and trying to get a black bow to stay in place.

After a short silence, Ricky finally spoke up. "Eh, not really," he replied. "Just celebrating our first month of school together."

"Oh, okay. Have a fun time, then," she said with a cheery grin.

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"SCOTT PILGRIM!"

"Ricky, shut up!"

"But… Scott Pilgrim."

"No," Stacey snapped, hitting him with a Hershey's chocolate wrapper as we exited the theater. He looked down, pretending to be hurt, then scowled and put his hand on his chest as if he was saying the pledge of allegiance. He patted his chest a few times before looking up.

" … Why is there popcorn down my shirt?" He asked.

"Morgan and I burst out laughing. We had been trying to get popcorn down each other's keikogi and we'd both thrown a little too hard.

"It's our fault," she said. Ricky rolled his eyes (A/N: Haha! Rick Roll! xD) and removed the popcorn from his shirt, raising an eyebrow as about five pieces fell out. I followed suit, pulling my shirt away slightly and shaking it.

"If it makes you feel any better, I got some down my shirt, too," I laughed.

"Me too," Stormy huffed, pointing at me and turning towards Ricky. "She was so busy trying to flirt with you that she didn't realize she was getting popcorn down everybody else's shirt."

I blushed and shook my head. "I was _not _flirting!"

"Whatever," she replied smugly. "You know you were."

I stuck out my tongue childishly as she and Saxon walked arm-in-arm down the flight of stairs to the theater's first floor, past the concession stand, and towards the front of the theater. They waited for the rest of the group to get outside before Saxon shouted, "Race you to the fountain!"

Morgan and I smiled at each other and dashed ahead of the group, determined to get there first. We jumped over stairs and raced through the Promenade, past restaurant patios, various stores, and several other visitors. Finally reaching the fountain, we took our sandals off and waited for the rest of the group.

Ricky already had his shoes off, screaming as he barreled past us and through the fountain, emerging from the other side completely soaked.

"SCOTT PILGRIM!"

We screamed as he chased us around, eventually forcing us to run through the fountain ourselves. I gasped as the freezing fountain water splashed me.

"Gotcha!" he laughed. Morgan growled and jumped on his back, and Ricky screamed as she covered his eyes. "Get it off!" he shouted, spinning around before falling to the ground. I couldn't help but laugh at the two of them.

"You know what's funny?" Saxon said to me in his usual awkward way as I turned away from the spectacle. "I got the whole thing on camera." I giggled and watched as he played it back, unaware of Ricky and Morgan behind me.

"Super-Glomp!" They shouted in unison, glomping me from behind. I squeaked as Morgan let go and Ricky picked me up, carrying me through the fountain again.

"Hey!" I giggled. "Put me down! My uniform!"

Laughing, he did as he was told and set me down. I turned and made a pouty face at him. "Why uniform's all wet now," I whined, trying to surpress a smile.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled. We both stood there for a few seconds, laughing at what had just happened. It was strange making eye contact with him, but I couldn't look away. His eyes were absolutely beautiful in the last rays of the setting sun, the bright yellowish brown contrasting perfectly with his black hair. Subconsciously, we both began to lean in towards each other- _for a kiss?_ - Until Danni interjected, which snapped us both out of it.

"Awwwww!" she teased. "How cute! They were gonna kiss!" Stacey joined in, and a whole chorus of 'awwwwws' started.

"Shut up," I said, blushing a little. The group was silent for a moment as everyone stood, scrutinizing us.

"Hey, I have an idea," Tony said, breaking the silence. "Let's go get dinner." Just then, a few drops of rain began to fall on us. Jason mumbled something under his breath and looked around. He pulled a black umbrella from his ever-present messenger bag and looked up at the sky, scowling.

"The weatherman didn't say it was going to rain."

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By the time we'd gotten done with dinner, it was pouring pretty heavily, and black clouds had accumulated over the Promenade. Lightning flashed nearby, followed closely by a deafening clap of thunder. I whined and leaned in towards Ricky, who put his arm around me protectively. It was pitch black by then, and the Promenade was almost completely empty. The clock tower above the movie theater showed that it was about 11:00.

"Let's get back to the car, quick," Tony said, lifting his jacket above his head. In our rush to the parking lot, we didn't notice anything strange about our surroundings.

For one thing, the sky was purple and black, not a natural color for a summer night's sky- stormy or not. We didn't realize that the "people" following us weren't actually people, either; not even the hunched backs, twitchy movements, _antennae,_ or glowing yellow eyes tipped us off.

About a hundred feet from the car, one of the shady "people" made its move. Tony fell to the ground with two of them on top of him. He screamed as one of them tore open his back with its sharp claws.

The next thing we knew, Morgan had been knocked to the ground with a cluster of the black things on top of her as well; after that, the group had begun dropping like flies. When we tried to run one way, a group of the little monsters blocked our path. Before we knew what had happened, a cluster of about forty little black creatures had surrounded us.

"Shit!" Jason cursed. "Heartless, here?"

I looked at Jason, bewildered, and gulped.

"Is… is that what they are?" I stammered.

"Yeah," he replied. "I don't think we're going to make it out of this alive, either."

I froze. "…What?"

"If we make it out of this, I'll explain. Grab a weapon, though. Doesn't matter what."

I nodded in acknowledgement, quickly brandishing my butterfly knife. Three of the creatures leapt at me, razor claws at the ready. I grazed the side of one of them, and it made a high-pitched shrieking noise as it dissipated into a thin black mist. Jason had been using his umbrella to beat the Heartless down, but it was like killing a hydra; Every time one would die, three more seemingly appeared in front of him to take their fallen comrade's place. Before we knew it, we were completely surrounded. A larger Heartless ambushed me from behind and I was knocked to the ground. I felt its claws tear into my back, and in a matter of seconds I was out cold.

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	2. Am I Dead?

**Hi again, people! It's Saelia again with the second chapter of Twentyfour. Not much else to say here. O.o;;Oh. Sorry it's a bit short. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any other brand names mentioned herein.**

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**Chapter 2**

My eyes fluttered open slowly, registering a world of white. I sat bolt upright and glanced around, struggling to take in my surroundings while my eyes adjusted. I was in a pure white room filled with furniture of the same color- an ivory vase, a white curtain hanging in front of a huge bay window, a white couch at the far end of the room. There was even a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling with twelve white candles. For a few moments, I had wondered if I'd gone colorblind somehow. There were no lights in sight, no lamps, lightswitches or anything, despite the room's strange brightness. I crossed the room and pulled back the white curtain to look out the window. What I saw startled me, and it was then I realized that I was no longer in Autumn Hollow. It was pitch-dark outside, but the obnoxious, flashing lights of a neon city far below the window stretched on endlessly. It was a sea of asphalt, a maze of lights. There was a small yellowish-white blob that hung in the sky, which I assumed was an airplane… until I realized that it was stationary. I assumed then that it was an extremely bright star, or some other anomaly. But I couldn't locate the moon in the sky, or any other stars. The sky was purple and black, the same as the sky above the Promenade had been when the Heartless attacked.

_Where am I?_ I thought to myself. _I must be dead._

A tall man, who stood at the far end of the room clearing his throat, interrupted my silent musings. I whirled around to look at him, and squinted again as my eyes readjusted to his image. His onyx coat was a sharp contrast to his surroundings. A black hood covered his face, and no features were really distinguishable. Several silver chains adorned the coat, making a chiming sound with each heavy step he took towards me.

"Aleise," he said flatly, extending a hand to me. Dumbstruck, I shook it, trying to find eyes to make contact with to no avail.

_He must be the Grim Reaper or something._

"Excuse me, sir," I said sheepishly, bowing to him respectfully. "But… where exactly _am _I? Am I dead?"

He gave a soft chuckle and covered his mouth with a gloved hand.

"Where indeed?" he chided in a low voice. "You are here, and yet you are not."

I scowled. "Maybe I should ask something else, then. How did you know my name?"

Silently, the man pulled a small purple card from his pocket and handed it to me. I was shocked to see that it was my school I.D. card.

"My I.D.?"

The man nodded silently.

"How'd you get ahold of it?"

"You have already been here for one day," he answered. "But you have only fully awoken just now. Upon your arrival, we searched your belongings for anything bearing a name."

"Awoken? What do you- ah, nevermind… So… If I've been here for a day already, then surely my friends…?" I spoke, my sentences sounding more _staccato_ than I would have liked.

"I can see that you are worried about them," he spoke. "But… are you really? Do you _feel _worried? Answer me that."

I thought about the man's peculiar question for a moment, taken aback. Why wouldn't I feel worried? But then, something clicked- I _didn't _feel anything. He was right. I wanted to see them all badly, but I didn't _feel _worried or concerned about them at all. I wasn't dizzy, my pulse had not increased- nothing. It was all empty want, it seemed, driven by instinct, not emotion.

"…No. No, I can't say that I do."

"Aleise… What if I told you that the reason you cannot feel is because you have no heart?"

I was taken aback by this. Was not having a heart even possible? The answer I'd just been provided seemed purely… _illogical. _Furthermore, the suggestion of heartlessness just seemed downright rude, but… I couldn't say that I felt offended.

"No offense, sir, but I'd wonder if you had a few screws loose."

He gave a low chuckle again and slowly removed his hood. He had dark tanned skin, the same tone as my grandfather's, and fierce, intimidating orange eyes, coupled with long silver hair that fell to his shoulders and made his eyes look brighter. Somehow, he seemed taller without a hood on, and I felt a sensation of sinking into the floor.

"None taken; I would have wondered the very same thing," he mused. "However, I assure you, I am telling you the truth. You are an empty shell; a Nobody. But allow me to introduce myself. I am Xemnas, Superior of Organization XIII. We are a group comprised of beings known as Nobodies- just like you. Our primary goal is to achieve Kingdom Hearts in order to get our hearts back. "

"What makes you so sure you want your heart back?" I asked. "I mean, if you have no emotions, that leaves you with so much raw power, completely unhindered by doubt or fear, or anything. Isn't that what everybody wants?"

Xemnas paused for a second, considering my question.

"Aleise."

"Y-yes?" I stammered, a bit intimidated at his straightforward approach.

"What does an angel long for, more than anything in the world?"

At this point, I'd already filled my 'peculiar questions' quota for the rest of my life. This question began to give me a headache.

"What _could_ an angel want?" I answered slowly, thoughtfully. "Every one of man's desires are his. Flight, freedom… _power_… What more could he possibly want for?"

There was a long pause."…You can't think of it, then?" Xemnas asked.

I shook my head 'no' in response.

"To be human."

I raised an eyebrow at this; it was a new concept for me. I'd heard of humans wanting to become perfect beings- in other words, angels- but I would never have thought of an angel wanting to return all of his power and freedom to be weak and powerless, a slave to emotion.

"In a sense, we are angels as well," Xemnas continued. "We are free from the burdens of human emotion- the stress, the pain, the fear. Yet, how can one enjoy life if they know not what joy _is_?" He paused for a second. "Excuse me; I've gone off on a tangent. I'll cut to the chase. You were brought here because you survived the Heartless' attack and, upon becoming a Nobody, still managed to retain your human form. That in itself is the symbol of a strong person, and because of this, I believe that you will be valuable to our cause. By achieving Kingdom Hearts, we can all achieve what we want most- to become human once more. And once it is complete, a share of the end result will be yours. What do you say?"

"I accept," I said automatically, knowing full well that it wasn't as if I had a choice in the matter.

"Very well, then." Xemnas said, smiling. " A new name is necessary for a new beginning. After all, you are not _you_ anymore. So, here's to a new you… Saeliax."

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	3. Nice to Meet You

**... *insert Jaws theme here***

**Hi again! It's Saelia, with another installment of Twentyfour. I lol'd as I was writing this.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any other brand name mentioned herein.**

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**Chapter 3**

_Saeliax? _I wondered. _Have I been forced into some kind of cult?_

"Follow me," Xemnas said, pushing open the door he had entered the room through. "I will reunite you with your friends."

I did as I was told and followed him out of the room, observing my surroundings. The halls were bare white, too, just like the room we'd just come from. Several vases lined the walls, as well as many doors that I would have missed if not for the indentations and shading around the doorways. The hall seemed to extend on forever, and I almost didn't notice when Xemnas made a sharp right turn, putting him in front of a staircase. He took the stairs so quickly I had to practically run to keep up with him, and I assumed that he was used to rushing about.

"Um, sir," I said, "Where are we? Are we in a house or something?"

Xemnas stopped and turned to look at me. "In a sense. Right now, we are inside the living quarters of our stronghold, here in the World That Never Was. Like us, this world was never meant to exist. But in any event, this is not a house; it is a castle."

I nodded, taking the information in. Xemnas turned on his heel at the foot of the stairs and we continued through a large auditorium with a glass ceiling to a huge room. Xemnas stepped onto a large platform and I followed suit, looking over the edge. The room we had entered was circular, and had to have a radius of at least a mile. The room's floor had to have been at least seventy stories down. There was a set of stairs that wound down around a large pillar and seemed to continue on endlessly. It also looked like there was an elevator inside the pillar, but I couldn't be sure from afar.

"Whoa! This room is huge," I said in awe, stepping closer to the edge.

"You may not want to stand so close to the edge," the Superior said. A second later, a light flashed around us, and suddenly a barrier barred me from getting any closer to the edge. The platform began to drop rapidly and I realized that it was an elevator, though it reminded me of some demented ride at an amusement park. I screamed as my feet lifted off of the platform's surface slightly and it began to rotate slowly as if it were dropping down a twisted elevator shaft. The distant walls of the room blurred in front of me as we fell, the windows creating illusory stripes of black and white. A few seconds later, when the elevator had come to a halt, I felt my stomach sink from my throat down into my feet. My head was spinning and I clutched my stomach, afraid that I was going to vomit. The Superior laughed softly as we stepped off of the platform and continued on. I had to hang onto a handrail along the wall to make sure I didn't collapse.

"That is precisely why you should stand in the middle of the elevator. I would advise you not to look over the edge next time, either," he chuckled.

I looked at him incredulously. _"Again?"_

"Aleise!"

We had entered another room, full of color this time. There was a Twister mat laid out on the ground in front of two slate-colored couches pushed up against the walls, and a few Twister cards lay scattered about on a large glass coffee table. One wall had been splashed with all different colors of paint, and had the name 'Demyx' written out in black in the corner of the wall. I laughed when I noticed that someone had come along and written 'is an idiot' in red marker in front of the name. There was also a huge television pushed up against the far wall, and a PlayStation and several game controllers were laid out on the floor in front of it.

"I will leave you here for now. I have to go and collect a few things," Xemnas said. I nodded as he turned to leave. "Please do not hesitate to socialize with anyone here, but do not leave the room." I nodded again as he left, turning to my friend.

"Hey, Morgan!" I called, running across the room and giving her a hug. After a few seconds, I pulled back and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Wait… you're name isn't Morgan anymore, is it?"

She shook her head. "Nope. It's Xangrom now, apparently. Isn't this whole thing strange?"

I nodded and looked at the people standing behind her. I only saw Stormy, Woody, Stacey, and Tony. Behind them stood five people I wasn't familiar with. They all wore the same black trench coat as Xemnas, so I assumed it was a uniform.

"Ah. Did they escort you in here?" I asked her, motioning to the five unfamiliar people behind her.

"Yeah," she answered. "Hey, Zexion?"

A young man appearing to be in his late teens looked up at her from his thick book and raised an eyebrow. He had slate-grey hair that fell over one of his eyes, and stood about four inches taller than me. His black coat fell almost to his ankles, and only the toe of his boot was visible.

"…Yes?"

Morgan crossed the room to address him, and motioned for me to follow. "There were eleven of us originally. What happened to our other friends?"

"They are all fine," he answered in a low whisper. "You'll see them soon; don't worry." He then turned to me and extended his gloved right hand. "My name is Zexion, number VI of Organization XIII. And you are?"

I bowed slightly to him and extended my right hand, shaking his. "I'm Alei- um… Saeliax. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He smiled a bit, seeming amused at my mistake. "It's very nice to meet you, Saeliax. The new name is a bit strange, isn't it? Don't worry, though; I promise that it will wear off in no time."

"It is," I answered, and then paused for a second. "…This isn't the whole Organization, is it?"

Zexion shook his head and answered in a whisper again. "Oh, no. There are seven more of us; they are all talking to your other friends right now, though. All of your friends made it here safely, but we've decided it would be best to split you up into two groups for the exercise we are going to have you do. In a moment, the Superior will be back with your uniforms, and we will test you to see what abilities you hold." He paused for a second, and a wry smile spread across his face. "By the way, how did you like the elevator?"

"I nearly threw up! I hate that thing," I said, making a face. Zexion laughed quietly, moving a gloved hand in front of his face.

"Remember not to stand close to the edge," he remarked.

The door then flew open and Xemnas stepped into the room, arms full of cloaks, gloves, boots, and a list. He cleared his throat, demanding attention from everyone, and the room fell silent.

"When I call your name," he said, setting the pile of clothes down gently on the arm of a sofa, "you are to come up and take your uniform. Then, your guide will proceed to take you back to your quarters to change, and you will meet back here." He paused to catch his breath, and then began to read off the list. "Xangrom."

Morgan stepped forward with Zexion close behind her. She looked at the labels on each of the items to make sure they were the right size, and then followed Zexion out of the room.

"Xielagh."

Next up was Stormy- or, more accurately, Stormy's Nobody. She stepped forward and nonchalantly grabbed her uniform before being escorted out by a tall man with long, salt-and-pepper hair, a deep scar on his face, and an eyepatch.

"Xyton."

Tony stepped forward and plucked a coat from the pile, checking the label on the back. He set it down and grabbed another before picking out a pair of boots, then a pair of gloves. His guide, a tall man with bright green eyes and red hair slicked back into tall spikes, escorted him out.

"Caestyx."

Stacey's Nobody skipped over to the couch, humming a high-pitched tune. Xemnas seemed slightly irritated as she took her time picking out a coat and shoes.

"Don't you need gloves?" Her guide asked. He was an extremely tall man with slicked back orange hair.

"Nah, I'm good," she retorted, producing a pair of red leather gloves from her pocket. "See?"

The tall man sighed and led her out of the room. Clearing his throat again, Xemnas indicated that he wanted to get on with it. Only Woody and I remained, and we glanced at each other nervously.

"…Woodyx."

Woody stuck out his tongue playfully and strode over to the couch with his guide, a man with indigo eyes and thick black cornrows, in tow. After they had left, Xemnas set down his piece of paper and motioned for me to come forward. I grabbed the remaining coat off of the couch and picked up the pair of boots and gloves.

"Saeliax, follow me this way," he instructed, not budging.

"Um… follow you _where_, sir?" I asked.

"Patience," he replied. Instead of going back through the door, he held his open hand out in front of him and blinked slowly, and a black and purple portal appeared in front of him. I stepped back, alarmed at the sight.

"Don't be afraid." he put his hand on my back and pushed me through the portal. Once inside the portal, I stopped and looked around. It was extremely dark and all of the surroundings were swirling purple and black. I was surprised that we were able to stand on the shifting ground at all without falling through. "Keep walking," he instructed. I did as I was told and, in a matter of seconds, we'd arrived outside of a door somewhere in the castle. It had the number 'XIX' marked on it.

"Is this my room, then?" I asked, pointing at the door. "Zexion mentioned that he was number VI or something… does that make me number XIX, then?"

Xemnas nodded. "Until further notice, yes. Now, go inside and get changed. There is a shrit and a pair of pants hanging in your closet that you are to wear underneath the coat. I will be out here waiting when you are done."

I entered the room wordlessly and looked around. It was blank and white, like the rest of the rooms in the castle, and the far wall was made up entirely of glass, with ivory curtains draped in front of the window. The queen-size bed I'd been provided with was all white as well, and across from the foot of the bed was a small closet. On the foot of the bed laid a small black wallet. I promptly took off my kendo uniform and folded it, then opened the closet to look for a place to set it. Inside the closet was one shelf, along with a black t-shirt and a black pair of pants.

I quickly drew the curtains and got dressed, slapping the coat on over the baggy under-uniform, slipped on my boots and gloves, and rushed outside. Xemnas was leaned against the other wall, arms crossed.

"Ready?" he asked, opening the same portal again. I nodded and slowly stepped inside, repeating what I had done the last time.

"With that coat on, it is not much of a threat," the Superior stated, "But if you do not keep walking, the darkness will overtake you again."

"Heartless?"

"Precisely."

I hurried along after Xemnas and, once again, found myself in the room with the others waiting.

"Took you long enough," Xielagh said.

"Sorry I'm a bit late," I said, bowing. "So, when are we going to start this little activity thing?"

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**Pah. What a lame ending. xP**

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	4. A Test From Hell

**Ack! A long chapter, finally! O.o I think I have arthritis now, or maybe carpal tunnel. xD**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any other brand name mentioned herein.**

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**Chapter 4**

"Everyone, listen up," Xemnas said. "We are going to test your abilities now. Lexaeus, if you will." He nodded to Stacey's guide, the man with the orange hair. He nodded silently and pulled six red bands from his pocket, then handed them out to each of us. "All of you that have been handed a red band are on a team," Xemnas explained. He then took a white band out of his pocket and tied it around his forehead. The other "original" members quickly did the same. "We are on opposing teams, and will be fighting each other. In a moment, we will head into the training room to test your abilities. You are completely unarmed until you can figure out how to summon your weapon and use magic- two of the many new powers you have obtained upon becoming a Nobody. In a moment, we will head into the training room, and we will commence the test. It is not over until either one of you has died or you have all summoned your weapons and used magic once."

I gulped and looked over at Xangrom, who had a serious expression on her face. She was listening intently, but a look of worry spread over her face when the possibility of death was mentioned.

"Xangrom, you okay?" I whispered to her.

She nodded and turned to me, smiling. "I'm fine; don't worry about me. But your hands are shaking. Are _you _alright?"

"I'll be fine," I whispered back.

_No, I'm not. This doesn't sound very good, _I thought to myself.

Xemnas opened a portal and motioned for us to step through it. "If you will," he said. We all went through in a large group, but a few of the group members had never been through the portals before, and because of this, it took a little over a minute for us to clear the confusion and reach the other side. When we emerged from the wormhole, the room was almost completely dark. No more than some walls, our opponents' white headbands that now glowed in the dark, and a few large rocks were visible.

"Commence," the Superior called. I immediately dove for cover behind a boulder and felt something fly by my ear in the darkness.

_What was that? _I thought to myself.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," a voice mocked as something else whizzed past my ear again, barely missing this time. I cursed loudly as shrapnel from the boulder hit my leg, and a shard of rock found its way into the back of my left leg. Something warm dripped down the back of my foreleg, which I assumed was blood. I dashed blindly through the darkness, trying to take cover where I could not see any white headbands. I eventually settled behind another boulder, breathing as quietly as I possibly could.

"I can still see you," the voice taunted. I whirled around to pinpoint the source of the voice, but there was no white headband to be seen. "No, over here!" This time, the voice came from above. I looked up to find that, once again, nothing was here. "No… behind you," the voice whispered in my ear. I turned around to see a white headband two feet from my face, belonging to the man with the eyepatch. He drew his arm back, ready to strike me with his elbow.

"No!" I shouted, putting my arms up defensively. Half a second before he hit me, there was a flash of light. As I flew backward in the air, a thin trail of blood flowing from my nose, I noticed that I was _holding_ something.

_What the Hell is that?_

I looked down to inspect the item in my hand. It felt solid in my hands, similar to how my shinai had felt during kendo practice. It was about two pounds heavier, and it felt slightly longer than my shinai.

_All right. I'll run with this, _I thought.

"Get up!" the man shouted, reappearing a few feet in front of me. I turned my wrists open and made a stabbing motion, performing a _tsuki-_a throat strike- into thin air as the man disappeared.

"Over here, girlie!"

I closed my eyes in thought, gathering all of my energy into my arms.

_Focus._

A moment later, the weapon began to glow red-hot. I looked at it in amazement, wondering if I had done that myself. I could see that the weapon was metal, with a welded-on cap holding four smaller pieces together. The weapon's handle was made of carbon and fiberglass, and seemed to resist heat better than the weapon itself. Despite this, my arms began to burn as the weapon heated up.

_A metal shinai?_

"If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you!" the man shouted, attempting to rush me. I let out an intimidating shout, then struck _kote_- a wrist strike- as the man tried to strike me again, this time with the blunt edge of his weapon. He let out a yelp and disappeared, reappearing about twenty feet away.

"Ow. That burned a little," he mocked, firing his weapon, which by then I had determined was a gun. I screamed and waved my shinai in a pathetic effort to deflect the bullet. I felt a large gust of wind, then heard a loud explosion as the bullet went flying to the other end of the room. I looked at the end of the shinai in wonder.

"So you can cause explosions, too, then," the man mused. There was a flash of purple as he dismissed his weapons and strode over to me, giving me a noogie.

"Ow!" I complained. "What are you _doing?_"

"Good work, girlie. You pass. Now go help your friends out, yeah?" he said, teleporting out of the room.

My thoughts immediately shifted to Xyton.

"Hey, Xyton!" I called in the darkness. "Where are you?"

"Over here!" he whispered. He had stationed himself behind a boulder about six feet from me. I ran over to him, taking cover as well.

"Have you managed to summon your weapon yet?" I asked.

"No," he squeaked as the boulder we had been hiding behind shattered. There stood Lexaeus, with a _huge_ tomohawk in his hand. And I mean _huge._

"You'd better hurry up then!" I shouted at him. Then, a lightbulb went off in my head.

"Xyton," I said, raising my shinai above my head. It began to glow red again, illuminating his horrified face.

"Saeliax!" he shouted, alarmed. "What the Hell are you doing?"

Similar to what had happened to me, there was a flash of light as a weapon appeared in his hand. When the light faded, there was a small handgun in his hand.

"There you go," I said.

"Um… thanks?" he said, lowering his arms slowly.

"Now focus all of your energy to your arms and see what you can do," I instructed. "I don't know if it'll work for you, but that's how I figured out how to use magic."

He did as I instructed focused for a moment as Lexaeus brought his tomahawk up over his head, then pulled the trigger. A silver ball flew from the barrel and hit Lexaeus in the elbow. The man cursed as the bullet lodged itself in his arm, and the flesh around the wound began to darken a bit.

"You pass," the man grunted as he teleported away. I turned to Xyton, smiling.

"That was awesome!" I cheered. "So, you can control poison?"

He looked at me, bewildered. "I guess so."

Just then, the lights in the room flickered on. We all groaned as our eyes adjusted to our surroundings. Above us, in what looked like a spectator's area, stood Xemnas.

"Congratulations," he said. "You all have passed. If you will all find your way up here, we will begin the second portion of the test."

I looked around the room, surprised to find that all eleven of us had been reunited in the darkness.

"Excuse me," Xielagh interjected. "How are we supposed to get up there?"

Xemnas smiled. "You'll have to find a way."

We all gathered in the center of the room, hugging each other and learning each other's new names as well as trying to find a way up to the spectator's area.

Ricky- or, rather, Xyckri- finally came up with an idea after about five minutes of talking it over.

"…Why not use one of those portal things?"

I looked up at him slowly, then slapped my forehead. "Duh!" I shouted. "Xyckri, I don't know what we'd do without you."

He smiled at me and ruffled my hair. "Awwww, you're too kind. Now… how to make one appear?"

"I saw the Superior open one like this," I said, extending my open hand in front of me. Nothing happened.

"Maybe… try thinking about opening the portal?" Saxxon suggested. I followed his suggestion, but nothing happened. I sighed in disappointment.

"Try thinking about where you want to go, then," he said.

I tried again, and within seconds, a small portal had appeared. Daxxin, Danni's Nobody, stifled a laugh.

"It looks anemic," she giggled. I looked at my "anemic" portal and scowled at her.

"Whatever. I personally think it's pretty good for a first try," I said. "Now hurry up and go through; holding this thing open is kind of draining me."

The group hurried through, and we wound up standing beside Xemnas. He looked surprised, but I took it as a good sign.

"Well done," he said. "Now we can commence with part two of the test."

Xemnas snapped his fingers, and several small, humanoid creatures appeared before him. They were silver, and stood about four feet tall. Their movements were extremely exxagerated and jerky, similar to the Heartless.

"Inform the others that part two of the test is about to begin," Xemnas commanded. The beings gave a slight nodding motion and vanished into small portals. Within five minutes, all of the other members had gathered inside the training hall.

"Welcome to part two of the test," Xemnas said. "You will be split into teams of three for this portion. There will be eight teams- four teams of the original members, and four of our new recruits. You will decide on a position- either point, center, or anchor- on the team, and you will fight a one-on-one match with the appropriate member from the opposing team. The match is over when one of you is either dead or unable to stand. Are there any questions?"

A blonde boy about our age, one of the original members, raised his hand and said, "Um, there are thirteen of us and eleven of them. How can we divide into teams of three?"

Xemnas smirked. "Number XIII. Since you brought this issue up, you can fight on one of the new recruits' teams."

The boy groaned and dragged his feet as he made his way over to our group.

"Any others?"

Everyone remained silent.

"Very well, then. You may now split into teams."

Immediately, Xangrom ran over to me and grabbed ahold of me by my hair.

"Good! Now we just need one more person!" she said. "Xyckri! Over here!" Xyckri ran over to our group and grabbed a handful of my hair as well, holding it up in the air.

"Okay! We're a team!" He called to Xemnas. Xemnas smirked and walked up to our group.

"You three may fight first, then," he said. "You may take some time to decide what position you would like."

My two teammates dragged me away from the Superior and we began to discuss our plan of action.

"I call point!" Xangrom said immediately. "I wanna fight first!"

Xyckri laughed. "A little eager to show off our new weapon, are we? Saeliax, it's up to you. Which position would you like?"

I thought about my options carefully, and decided that it would be best to let Xyckri fight first. The whole time I was thinking, though, I found myself subconsciously staring into his eyes, and a slight blush crept over my face when I realized that his eyes were the same beautiful hazel as Ricky's had been.

"…Um, I'd like to take anchor, if it's alright with you," I said.

"Fine with me." He smiled at me before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and handing me a red hair ribbon.

"So it doesn't get in the way," he said. "Your hair, I mean. I meant to give it to you at the movies, but I kind of forgot."

"Thanks," I replied, blushing a little more. I tied my hair back quickly and led the group back to Xemnas.

"We're ready," I informed him.

"Ah, good," he replied before turning to the other team.

"We will now begin," he announced. "Both teams, please make your way to the training area."

I began to open a portal, but Xangrom stopped me. "I'd like to try this time, if it's alright with you," she said.

"Oh, it's fine by me," I replied.

She nodded, focusing as hard as she could on making the portal open. After about a minute, she finally opened a full portal. I scowled and looked at the perfect portal she'd produced.

"Okay, so I know I suck at opening portals, now," I mumbled.

"You did fine," she said, jumping through. "Come on."

We wound up exactly where we intended to go, on the left-hand side of the battlefield. A blue-haired man with golden eyes and an 'X' shaped scar on his face from the other team stepped onto the battlefield, and Xangrom followed suit.

"Go, Xangrom!" Xielagh shouted from the spectator's area. "Knock 'em dead!" She turned and gave Xielagh a thumbs-up.

"Saix," Xemnas said. The blue-haired man looked up at the Superior and nodded.

"Ready, sir," he said flatly, summoning his weapon. It was a huge claymore the size of a child. I inwardly doubted that Xangrom's weapon would be able to parry a blow from that thing, or even do much damage against the man. He looked extremely powerful.

"Xangrom."

Xangrom summoned her weapon and looked up at him, grinning. It was a _fountain pen_.

"Ready, sir!"

"Begin!" Xemnas shouted.

Immediately, Saix launched a head-on assault on Xangrom. An inhuman snarl rose from the man's throat as he closed the distance between them and swung his claymore at her in a powerful arc. Xangrom gracefully leapt out of the way and swiped the pen in midair as if drawing a horizontal line. Saix hissed as a horizontal slash of black ink found its way into his eyes a second later, blinding him. He began to slash wildly at nothing while Xangrom moved away from him quietly. Suddenly, her boot scuffed the tile floor, alerting Saix to her whereabouts. He turned on his heel and rampaged after her, but as he swung his claymore, she leapt onto it and jumped onto his shoulders from there, throwing him a bit off-balance. He roared, dropped his claymore and plucked her off of his back, then proceeded to rip her in two. Instead of the carnage that we expected to follow, she turned to a shower of black ink and cascaded down onto Saix, dying him completely black.

"Looking for me?" she asked mockingly, poking her head out from behind a rock. Saix's ears perked up and he launched himself at her, only to meet face-to-face with another ink clone. The real Xangrom appeared from behind a wall and, brandishing her pen, she proceeded to draw herself a sword in midair. A second later, the same sword she'd just doodled materialized in her hand. "Now, let's end this."

Again, Saix rushed at her angrily. She swiftly raised the ink sword above her head and struck _men_- a head strike- before Saix could swing his claymore once. The sword exploded into small beads of black ink and melted on the ground as Saix collapsed.

The whole room went silent.

"One point for the… newcomers," Xemnas announced, sounding shocked. "Demyx, please clean him up."

"Yes, sir," a boy with sandy blonde hair said. He teleported down to the battlefield, scooped up the man and teleported away quickly, returning within the minute.

"Centers."

"Good luck, Xyckri!" I cheered.

The man with the eyepatch was next from the other team. He had a cocky smirk on his face as he stepped onto the battlefield.

"Xigbar," Xemnas called. Xigbar's guns appeared in his hands.

"Ready, Boss Man!"

Xemnas rubbed his temple. "Xyckri."

"Ready, sir," he answered calmly, calling forth his weapon: a _glove._

_The weapons keep getting stranger and stranger,_ I thought to myself.

"Begin!"

This time, it was Xyckri that made the first move. He opened his hand and raised it slightly. Immediately, the ground began to split and fracture into small tile sediments. With a flick of his middle finger, the cloud of sediment circled around him and flickered like a candle flame, but otherwise did not respond.

"Shit," he cursed as Xigbar teleported closer to him.

"Come on! This won't be any fun!" he taunted. Xyckri paused for a moment to take his glasses off. He glanced around before throwing them to me.

"Watch those for me, would you?" he said. I nodded, barely catching them.

"Can we get on with it then?" Xigbar asked in a bored tone. Xyckri looked up at him and smiled. He yelped as he was dragged out of the air by a cluster of sand around his ankles.

"Gladly," Xyckri answered smugly. His opponent teleported away from the sand and reappeared behind him, taking cover behind a wall. He open-fired on Xyckri, and a thin-arrowlike bullet lodged in his leg, while another found its way into his right thigh. He gasped and began to collapse from the pain, and Xigbar teleported himself closer to him. Right before he hit the floor, Xigbar kicked him in the stomach with the toe of his boot, sending him flying about twenty feet across the room. He rolled another ten feet when he landed, slamming into a boulder. A bit of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he tried to use the boulder to help him stand. Xigbar strode across the floor to him, a smug grin on his face.

"What's the matter, princess?" he sneered. "Too weak to fight?"

This struck a chord with Xyckri. His masculinity had just been insulted! He lifted his gloved hand, and with it rose a larger pile of sediment than there had been before, leaving a crater in the ground. Using his hand, he directed it towards the barrel of Xigbar's arrowgun.

"What the Hell?" Xigbar shouted, pulling one of the triggers. There was a loud _bang _as the gun exploded in his face. Xyckri had passed out right as Xigbar collapsed to the ground, unconscious from the shock and the pain. The glove on his right hand had been seared away when the gun exploded, as well as a bit of his hair.

"Tie!" Xemnas announced. "Demyx, you know what to do."

Demyx rolled his eyes as he cleaned up the two of them, teleporting them to the infirmary. "Yes, sir," he huffed.

"Anchors, step forward," Xemnas said flatly.

"You can do it, Saeliax!" Xangrom cheered. Wiping a bit of blood from my face, I turned around sheepishly and gave her a thumbs-up. "Kick some ass!"

From the other team, a tall man with shoulder-length pink hair stepped forward and summoned his weapon, a long pink scythe. It took all I had not to burst out laughing at him. He looked pretty fruity; so, I assumed that it would be an easy win on my part. His intimidatory preemptive strike had failed miserably. I summoned my weapon as well, readying myself.

"Marluxia," Xemnas said. The man nodded, never taking his eyes off of me.

"Ready, sir."

"Saeliax."

"Ready to go, sir," I answered.

"Begin!"

My shinai began to glow as I focused all of my energy into the blade, but Marluxia had disappeared before I had fully prepared myself.

"Too slow," he whispered in my ear. I whirled around to receive an uppercut in the stomach, sending me flying. I coughed up some blood as I landed face-up on a boulder. I struggled to stand as he approached me, scythe at the ready. He quickly raised the scythe over his head and prepared to strike. I noticed that the sharp edge of the scythe was pointed down. _Towards me._

_He's going to kill me!_ I panicked. I pointed my shinai upwards in an effort to block the scythe rushing down towards my neck like a guillotine. Again, I felt a gust of wind rushing towards Marluxia followed by an explosion, larger this time, and squeezed my eyes shut. When they opened, I saw that Marluxia had been knocked backwards across the room. I stood up slowly, my back aching horribly from the impact. He stood up slowly and brushed himself off, largely unaffected by the blast.

_Shit, that didn't even faze him! _I thought. He rushed me again, slashing madly the way Saix had in the first round. Remembering some techniques from kendo class, I parried a few of the slashes and struggled desperately as our weapons locked. He was a lot stronger than he looked, and I understood now why he took the anchor position. Stuck at an impasse, Marluxia pushed me backwards and swung the scythe in an arc to try and knock me down out of the air. I clenched my empty fist and felt my fall slow down as the air's temperature below me dropped dramatically. The temperature slowly began to rise again as my feet touched the ground. _What just happened? _I thought.

Again, Marluxia began slashing away at me as he did before. We locked weapons again, and I began to focus all of my energy to my blade again. Then, a lightbulb went off in my head. In a matter of seconds, my shinai had begun to glow white. I cut through his scythe like butter, and the scythe's blade clattered to the floor noisily. He backed away as I held up my free hand and balled it up into a fist, compressing the air in front of him. I opened my hand again quickly, which resulted in a deafening explosion. Marluxia had fainted before he hit the floor.

"Awesome job!" Xangrom cheered fro mthe sidelines. Almost immediately after that, my vision blurred and I dropped to the floor, exhausted.

"One point to the newcomers," Xemnas announced slowly. "Victory goes to the… _newcomers_…?"

I smiled weakly upon hearing this before completely losing consciousness.

* * *

**R3v13w plznthx? C:**


	5. An Accidental Discovery on a Day Off

**Hi again! ^^ Saelia here with Chapter Five of Twentyfour. Sorry this chapter is so short, but I'm swamped with homework! It's 11pm right now, and I'm still working on stuff. End of the trimester... blah. xP Anyhoo, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any other brand names mentioned herein.**

* * *

Chapter 5

Three weeks had passed since we had been essentially forced into Organization, and since then, my life- or, non-life- had consisted mainly of three things: Domestic chores, mealtimes, and training, which was essentially one long, continuous beating. The words, "you may take the day off today," were music to my ears. Maybe now, I'd thought, the bruises and wounds all over my body would have some time to heal properly.

I slept in until seven that morning. It was a good thing a Dusk was on hand to wake me, or else I might've slept through my alarm clock. With a lazy stretch and a loud yawn, I slowly lowered my bare feet onto the cold floor and stood up slowly. As per usual, it was dark out, but the city's obnoxious lights didn't bother me because we were so high up. I lazily ran a brushed my waist-length brown hair out and put my favorite silver clip in before slipping a cobalt blue-and-black sweater over my head. It was extremely oversized and fell down to my mid-thigh, but it was precisely that that I liked so much about it. I also slipped on a pair of tight black jeans with a hole on the knee and looked at myself in a mirror I'd hung on the inside of my closet door. _Just like usual,_ I thought to myself with a small grin. _I guess the Dusks knew exactly what I was talking about when I asked them to get these for me._

I found myself in the Grey Area fifteen minutes later, curled up on the sofa with a new book I'd found in the castle's library. There was plenty of shouting across the room since Demyx and Axel were playing twister. Sonjax- Jason's Nobody- had also gotten the day off from training, and he sat on the other end of the couch. He and I were bruised similarly.

"Um… Sonjax?" I started to ask him, flinching slightly as he turned towards me. It wasn't like him to immediately acknowledge me after addressing him, or… even acknowledge me _at all_, for that matter. I had to remind myself that this was Sonjax, _not_ Jason, as he opened his mouth to talk.

"You're probably curious as to how I knew about the Heartless on the night of the attack." His tone and expression were both flat and unreadable.

"…You got it," I answered apprehensively.

He paused for a moment, scrutinizing me carefully. Finally, he spoke, "The same thing happened to my home world."

Uh. Home _world? _This left me with far more questions than answers. "What do you mean, home _world? _Are you from Mars or something?"

A dry smirk flashed across his face. "Nope. But I'm not originally from Autumn Hollow… tell me, have you ever been outside of Autumn Hollow?"

"Um… I don't think so."

"That's because there's nowhere else to go," he stated. "Autumn Hollow is its own _world_- there's really no way out of it. I was thrown into Autumn Hollow somehow- and don't ask me how, I _don't know- _from my old world when Heartless attacked. I was familiar with them because after overtaking the town's guards, they took my family."

I gasped and put a hand over my mouth, casting my gaze downward. It was a bit pointless, seeing as I couldn't really sympathize with him anymore.

"…That's _horrible._"

He shook his head. "Not as if it matters now, huh?"

With that, he got up and began to move towards the exit of the room. "I'm just glad that all of us… _survived_¸ in a sense. At least we're all together."

I went back to reading after he left, unable to focus on the story. _What an awful way to lose your family,_ I thought to myself, recalling the utter fear I'd felt as the Heartless overtook me. _He's a tough guy. Can't honestly blame him for never talking to anyone in class. _I continued reading my book before another thought hit me like a slap in the face.

_If he knew about the Heartless, then... Maybe he knew about the Organization, too? _This thought I had deemed revolutionary. Any questions I asked Xemnas regarding the Organization XIII were answered quickly with an obscure riddle. Sonjax wasn't that much better as far as straightforward answers went, but I'd figured that any answers at all that I could get out of him would work for me. I laid my book face-down on the couch and made off after Sonjax quickly, determined to interrogate him a bit more.

_Ugh. _Not this damned elevator again. I cursed quietly to myself as the Twisted Ascension's platform lowered in front of me, inviting me to step onto it like a crocodile luring its prey into its jaws. I stepped on quickly and stayed close to the side as the barrier closed me in quickly and began its quick journey upward. I immediately felt ten times heavier and wanted to puke. In a matter of seconds, the demented, rejected amusement park ride came to a swift stop and the barrier disappeared. I stepped off dizzily and looked around. Though I was sure he had taken the elevator, he was still nowhere to be found.

_Ah. The Proof of Existence, _I thought after about a minute. _Maybe I can find him there._

I was still freezing, even in my sweater, on the outside of the castle. Though the temperature was more or less neutral, wind chill this high up was absolutely _horrible. _I shivered and slowly made my way to the Proof of Existence. The small anomaly in the sky, which I'd come to realize _was _Kingdom Hearts, our elusive goal, glimmered against the black sky. It was hardly visible now, though Xemnas swore it would grow over time almost to the size of the castle. There was an altar reaching up towards the tiny moon off of the castle's highest point, and there stood Xemnas, who seemed to be staring intently at Kingdom Hearts. I shrugged and continued on quickly, eager to get out of the cold.

Inside the Proof of Existence, the twenty-four portals to each member sat silently. The entrance to each gave off a bluish glow, and it was almost as cold standing in front of one as it was outside. I found Sonjax's, Number XVI, and went to enter, putting my hand through the portal first. Something scorched my hand, and I drew it back with a slight hiss.

"What the-" I thought, deeply perplexed by the whole situation. "Maybe I should just try back later." With that, I turned tail and headed back towards the Grey Area.

"...Hey, Axel?" I asked a bit apprehensively as I set down my book. The redhead looked up from the video game he was currently playing and grinned.

"She speaks!" he laughed. "What's up?"

I smiled a bit, though it was still clear that there was something was bothering me. "Um... If someone doesn't want themselves to be found through the Proof of Existence, can they... I mean, do they have the power to close off the portal?"

He raised an eyebrow, and his grin diminished slightly. "Yeah, I've heard of that being done before," he said. "Typically, though, you have to really know what you're doing to be able to close it off."

I nodded and smiled at him. "Okay. Thanks!"

_He _definitely _knows more than he's letting on._


End file.
